Container



UNITED STATES PATENT FFl CE CONTAINER John W. Gallo, Revere, Mass.Application April 22, 1937, Serial No. 138,330

2 Claims. 7 (CI. 65-57) My invention relates to containers and moreespecially to containers for holding dry granular or powdered materialsuch as salt and pepper and from which the contents can be dispensed bysifting as and when desired. A salt or pepper shaker is a device of thisclass.

The object of the invention is to provide a sanitary device of thecharacter described which will function to break up or loosen thecontents thereof when operated to discharge its contents thereby toprevent clogging of the outlet or outlets of the device.

To these ends I have provided a device of the character described havingthe novel features of construction and operation set forth in thefollowing description, said novel features being separately pointed outand defined in the claims at the close thereof.

In the accompanying drawing:--

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a salt or pepper shaker constructed inaccordance with this invention.

Figure 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

The illustrated embodiment of this invention is a salt or pepper shakercomprising a vessel It having an exteriorly flattened base forsupporting it in an upright position upon a table or the like and asomewhat constricted upper neck portion which, as shown, is providedupon its exterior with screw threads to engage with complemental screwthreads provided upon the interior of the skirt portion ll of a cap I2.

The vessel ill and cap l2 may be made from glass, porcelain, Bakelite,or any other suitable material but preferably the vessel is made ofglass and the cap molded from Bakelite.

The cap [2 is constructed with an imperforate top wall I3 made upon itsinner side with a centrally disposed, re-entrant, pointed conical bossI4 that is surrounded by and spaced away from the skirt H so as toprovide a progressively diminishing annular passageway between the mouthof the vessel Ill and the top wall l3 of the cap.

Opening into the smaller end of this passageway is a plurality ofapertures or holes I5 formed radially through the skirt ll of the cap,there being two circular series of apertures whereof the uppermost isradially opposite the inner fiat surface portion of the top wall l3 andthe lowermost is radially opposite an annular flat radial ridge, step orshoulder it provided upon the conical boss M.

The top wall l3 of the cap 12 is made upon its top side with a centrallydisposed conical cavity [1 whose upper outer end is made with a circularcounter-sink l8 within which is cemented or otherwise secured a closureplug l9 which may be of an ornamental character; that is, it may be madefrom glass or other suitable material ornamentallycombining orcontrasting with the appearance of the material of the cap. This plug itcloses the outer end of the cavity Ill and the latter serves to minimizethe weight of the cap and the amount of Bakelite or other materialrequired in its production.

When applicants device is shaken endwise in the usual manner to causethe discharge of some of its contents, the latter is thrown forwardagainst the stepped and pointed conical boss l4 and not only broken upif in packed condition, but also crowded and deflected laterally to andradially outwardly through the apertures I5, mainly because of thetapering or diminishing passageway between the boss and the skirt.

It will be observed also that dust or the like descending on to the capcannot gravitate through the perpendicularly radial apertures so thatthe above described device is more sanitary than would be the case ifthe apertures were provided through the top wall l3 and extendeddownwardly therethrough.

Also the above described radial disposition of the apertures preventsclogging thereof to a substantial degree.

What I claim is:

l. A container of the character described comprising a vessel having anoutlet neck at its top, and a cap for said vessel having an imperforatetop wall made upon its inner side with a centrally disposed dependingstepped conical boss and having an apertured depending tubular skirtportion surrounding said conical boss and removably connected with saidneck, some of the apertures of said skirt portion surrounding saidconical boss being disposed radially opposite the shoulder thereof sothat when the contents of the container is thrown forwardly into saidcap it is deflected laterally toward and through said apertures by theconical surfaces and broken up through impact with said shoulder.

2. A dispensing cap for a container madewith 45 a skirt for attachmentto said container, said skirt being apertured laterally, and a pointedboss depending from the cap top with an outstanding radial step formedthereon facing the pointed end of said boss, said step beingintermediate the base and point of said boss and defining an abruptabutment shoulder co-operative with the point of said boss for breakingup lumps in the contents being dispensed and for directing the contentstoward the lateral apertures of the skirt.

JOHN W. GALLO.

